This invention relates to a bicycle support apparatus, and more particularly to one which provides for the static use of a bicycle for purposes of training, conditioning, etc.
A particular object and feature of the present invention is the provision of a bicycle support for supporting an assembled bicycle, with rollers in the support apparatus supporting and engaging the front and rear wheels of the bicycle in a manner which enables the bicycle to be used in much the same manner as were the bicycle on an open road or track. The rollers in the apparatus support the front and rear bicycle wheels with both rotating during pedaling by the bicycle user. Thus, the apparatus may be employed by a bicyclist with the bicyclist in a stationary location under conditions closely simulating conditions of bicycle usage over the open terrain.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bicycle support apparatus further includes a detachable mount which is part of a front wheel support assembly detachably secured to a frame in the front wheel support assembly and constructed to provide support for the fork in a bicycle which mounts its front wheel. With the front wheel removed and the fork secured to the mount, the bicycle may be used with the bicycle frame and rear wheel in a more stabilized position than when the bicycle is supported through its front wheel on rollers in the front wheel support assembly. A bicyclist using the apparatus thus is permitted initially to train with the front wheel of the bicycle removed, and a transition is provided for further training with the front wheel in place on the bicycle and with the bicycle otherwise unsupported then through its wheels.
The rear wheel of a bicycle is the driven wheel, with the wheel during pedaling by the bicyclist ordinarily being subjected to a somewhat pulsating type of driving torque as the result of operating the bicycle pedals. The rear wheel support assembly in the apparatus of the invention is constructed in such a manner as to prevent the rear wheel from inadvertently leaping out of its cradled support during pedaling, and further in such a manner as to prevent the rear wheel from twisting or otherwise becoming misshaped from a condition of true roundness occupying a plane.